SANDU wants inquiry into the deaths of 14 SANDF soldiers in DRC
Fourteen SANDF troops were killed when M23 rebels attacked Congolese forces in the city of Goma two weeks ago.
- South African National Defence Union (SANDU)
- South African National Defence Force (SANDF)
- Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
The remains of 14 South African soldiers who died in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo arrive at the Swartkop Air Force Base in Centurion on 13 February 2025. Picture: Jacques Nelles/ Eyewitness News
JOHANNESBURG - The South African National Defence Union (SANDU) said it wanted an inquiry launched into what went wrong in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where 14 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers died.
The troops were killed when M23 rebels attacked Congolese forces in the city of Goma two weeks ago.
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While government said it wasn’t a direct attack on the SANDF deployed on a peacekeeping mission in the region, there were still questions about the exact circumstances of their deaths.
The South African soldiers were honoured in a memorial service in Tshwane on Thursday night.
The defence union’s national negotiator, Jeff Dubazana, said: "As a union, we are calling for an inquiry around this whole deployment mission. What happened a week before the 22nd of January last month? Why during the 22nd and 23rd did we lose our soldiers?"